Accredited official statistics

Biodiversity and ecosystem services: greenhouse gas removal by forests

Updated 10 December 2024

Applies to England

The number of indicators published as part of the Biodiversity Indicators suite will increase as new indicators are developed in response to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, consequently the Biodiversity Indicators production team may not have the capacity to continue to update this indicator in the future. If you use the data published for this indicator and feel this decision would impact you, please get in touch.

Last updated: 2024

Latest data available: 2022

Introduction

Forests are a large store of carbon and also act as an active carbon ‘sink’, removing carbon dioxide (CO₂), a greenhouse gas (GHG), from the atmosphere and storing it as carbon in living biomass, leaf litter and forest soil. This sequestration of CO₂ is an essential ecosystem service.

This indicator shows the cumulative net removal of GHGs from the atmosphere by forests in England since 1990. It is split between type of woodland (conifer and broadleaf). Showing GHG removals by type of woodland is interesting from a biodiversity perspective as it allows a clearer presentation of the contribution made to GHG removals by broadleaf woodland, most of which constitutes priority habitat.

Data for this indicator can be found in the published datafile. We also have a similar indicator at the UK level.

Type of indicator

Benefit indicator

Type of official statistics

Official statistic

Assessment of change

Cumulative net removals of greenhouse gases by forests in England.

Measure	Assessment	Time period	Result
Cumulative net removals	Long term	1990 to 2022	Improving
Cumulative net removals	Short term	2017 to 2022	Improving

Notes on the indicator assessment

Long- and short-term assessments are based on a 3% rule of thumb. Where possible, the base years for these assessments use a three-year average. See Assessing indicators.

Key results

It is estimated that from 1990 to 2022, forests in England have (cumulatively) removed the equivalent of 269 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (Mt CO₂e) from the atmosphere (Figure 1).

Although the indicator is assessed as improving in both the long term and short term since cumulative GHG removals have continued to increase, annual rates of removal have remained relatively static over the last 20 years, with English forests removing an estimated 8.4 Mt CO₂e in 2022(Figure 2).

The proportion of GHGs removed from the atmosphere by broadleaf woodland in England has fluctuated through the time series, but was greater in 2022 than when the time series began, accounting for 76% (6.4 Mt CO₂e) of the estimated annual removals in 2022 compared to 71% (4.6 Mt CO₂e) of removals in 1990 (Figure 2).

Figure 1: Cumulative net removals of greenhouse gases by forests in England, 1990 to 2022

Source: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) – Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) greenhouse gas inventory

Notes about Figure 1

• Estimated cumulative net removals of GHGs (carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) from the atmosphere by forests in England, expressed as million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (Mt CO₂e).
• Revised in 2024 due to improvements in the CARBINE model and forest planting and harvesting statistics (see ‘Further detail’).
• The results presented here are therefore not directly comparable with those in previous publications.

Figure 2: Annual net removals of greenhouse gases by forests in England, 1990 to 2022

Source: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) – Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) greenhouse gas inventory

Notes about Figure 2

• Estimated annual net removals of GHGs (carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) from the atmosphere by forests in England, expressed as million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (Mt CO₂e).
• Revised in 2024 due to improvements in the CARBINE model and forest planting and harvesting statistics (see ‘Further detail’).
• The results presented here are therefore not directly comparable with those in previous publications.

Further detail

The data presented here are from the UK’s Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) GHG inventory, which provides estimates of the annual emissions and removals of GHGs (carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O)) from the atmosphere by forests in the UK between 1990 and 2022 (Figures 1 and 2). LULUCF emissions and removals are given in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e). The CO₂e of a mixture of GHGs is the quantity of CO₂ that would have the same global warming potential.

English forests are a large store of carbon and also act as an active carbon ‘sink’, removing CO₂, a GHG, from the atmosphere and storing it as carbon in living biomass, leaf litter and forest soil. This sequestration of CO₂ is an essential ecosystem service.

National Inventories of human-induced sources and sinks of GHGs are submitted by Parties, including the UK, to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) every year. This system was set up to meet the reporting obligations of the Convention and is used to report on progress in meeting Kyoto Protocol commitments. The Kyoto Protocol, which entered into force in 2005, obliges industrialised countries that have ratified the accord to reduce their emissions of six greenhouse gases, the major contributors being CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O. The LULUCF greenhouse gas inventory covers emissions and removals of these three GHGs resulting from direct human-induced land use, land-use change and forestry activities. The LULUCF estimates are compiled for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and Forest Research.

The forestry figures in the 1990 to 2022 LULUCF inventory have been revised and therefore the figures presented here are not directly comparable to those in previous publications. Changes are due to improvements made to the Forest Research CARBINE model and a full explanation of the (most recent) changes can be found on page 413 of the National Inventory Report. Briefly, the reported overall net GHG sink in forest land in England (category 4A, see report) has increased by between 0.12 and 0.17 Mt CO₂e (1.4 to 2.6%) across the time series compared to the previous inventory.

The changes either are or relate to:

• A fix to the soil model to correct the percentage allocation of carbon incorporated into the soil to the resistant plant matter from 20% to 30%.
• The inclusion of urban trees across the whole timeseries. This changes the assumed gross/net ratio (that is, the ratio between the stocked area and the total reported forest area).

• The following minor activity data changes:

  • Planting estimates amended for England in 2017.
  • Updates to woodland loss estimates for England in 2013 to 2022.

The effect of these model changes at an England level is an increase in both the broadleaf and conifer forest GHG sinks for all years between 1990 and 2021. More specifically, increases to the broadleaf sink were of a greater magnitude than those to the conifer sink between 1990 and 2011 and then increases to the conifer sink were of a greater magnitude than those to the broadleaf sink between 2012 and 2021.

National Forest Inventory

The estimated carbon stock of trees in England can be used as a complementary measure of carbon storage. Information on current carbon stocks of forests in England was first calculated in 2014 using National Forest Inventory (NFI) data, based on a sample of woodlands equal to or greater than 0.5 hectares in size.

Fieldwork for NFI data on the carbon stock of all species of tree within forests in the UK is conducted every five years. The latest data is to 31 March 2020. At this point, there was estimated to be 125.3 Mt of carbon (459.8 Mt CO₂e) across all species of tree within forests in England (see Figure 3). Broadleaf trees, with an estimated carbon stock of 95.5 Mt (350.3 Mt CO₂e) are responsible for a much greater proportion of the total England carbon stock than conifer trees, which are estimated to have a total stock of 29.8 Mt (109.4 Mt CO₂e). This difference reflects the fact that in England, the total ‘growing stock volume’ (and area) of broadleaved woodland covered by the NFI is greater than that of conifer woodland.

Figure 3: Total carbon stocks in living conifer and broadleaved woodland trees in England, 1990 to 2020

Source: National Forest Inventory (Forestry Commission)

Notes about Figure 3

• Estimated total carbon in all living trees (including both above-ground and below-ground biomass) within woodlands of England (in million tonnes, Mt).
• The time series is non-linear.

Fieldwork for the current NFI began in 2009 and is conducted on a five-year cycle. The assessment of woodland carbon stocks from this inventory has formed a new baseline for carbon accounting within British forests and woodlands. Estimates of carbon stocks are determined by the total growing stock volume of woodland; this is a function of both woodland area and woodland characteristics (for example, number of trees, tree height and tree diameter) within this area.

The latest NFI fieldwork cycle began in 2020 and will run until 2025, after which point new data will be available and this indicator will be updated. The NFI assessment of woodland carbon stocks was used in the development of reporting on LULUCF emissions and removals. However, as there are differences in both the scope and the data sources used for LULUCF (sequestration) and NFI (stock) figures, they are not directly comparable. More information can be found in the Forest Research Report (PDF, 1.29Mb).

Relevance

The benefits that humans receive from the environment have become more widely recognised. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and the more recent UK National Ecosystem Assessment both highlighted that ecosystems and the services they deliver underpin our very existence. We depend on them to produce our food and timber, regulate water supplies and climate, and breakdown waste products. We also value them in less obvious ways: contact with nature gives pleasure, provides recreation and is known to have a positive impact on long-term health and happiness. Measuring the status of ecosystem services is therefore a critical aim of the indicator set. GHG removal is a regulating ecosystem service that contributes to reducing the scale and future impacts of climate change (climate change mitigation).

Web links for further information

• Forestry Commission: Carbon in live woodland trees in Britain, National Forest Inventory Report (PDF, 1.29 Mb)
• Forestry Commission: Understanding the carbon and greenhouse gas balance of forests in Britain (PDF, 7.24 Mb)
• Forest Research: Forestry Statistics and Forestry Facts & Figures
• Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: Home Page
• National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory: Greenhouse Gas emissions Reports
• UK National Ecosystem Assessment: Home Page

Development plan

Since our previous publication we have adapted the language and visualisations used in this indicator. We are keen to hear from our users about these changes, as well as our published development plan, please email us.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the many people who have contributed by providing data and to the many colleagues who have helped produce this indicator.